The Endurance
by namaenasuyou
Summary: The only way humans have ever figured out of getting somewhere is to leave something behind -a personal take on what could have been...
1. Chapter 1

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump.

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**The Endurance: Part I**

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It was supposed to be a perfect sealing process. According to what the God of Shinobi told them, it'd require both Naruto and Sasuke to finally seal Kaguya. That was the first step to bring an end to this endless loop of destruction and war. Step two would be to convince Sasuke to perform another hand seal which would release everyone from the Infinite Tsukiyomi. "_And then, we'll finally bring peace to this world and end the cycle of hatred._" Naruto thought back to when he was brought back to life; when he received his new power from the God of Shinobi.

Everything turned so bright when their hands touched Kaguya to seal her. The light was so bright that when they opened their eyes, they were thrown into that place, that dimension –the place only Naruto and Sasuke knew. The place they met whenever they bumped their fists.

"What happened?" Naruto pondered. "Are we-"

"No," Sasuke said, his voice low yet certain and alert. "We're not dead yet. Someone brought us here."

"Excellent observation." a familiar voice echoed behind them. Hagoromo Utsutsuki. His presence surprised both Naruto and Sasuke. How did he manage to come here in the first place? Just how much was he actually capable of to easily slip into different dimensions, including this little world only Naruto and Sasuke knew of.

"Gramps, what happened? You told us this was enough to seal her" Naruto said, feeling his blood boil, furious at so ludicrous a claim: that all they needed was their combined seal to finish her.

"I don't have much time left to tell you, so please listen." Hagoromo told firmly. "Kaguya seemed to have learned from her mistake in the past about the sealing process. She managed to counter the seal somehow. I have no explanation for that."

"However, it appears that she has dramatically weakened and if my suspicions are not incorrect, she would have some of her chakra pathways broken."

"Unfortunately at this point, it is not possible to ultimately seal her."

"Her chakra is unlimited. Yours is not. She will buy herself time until both of you suffer from chakra depletion." he said resolutely. And finally kill you both. The implication was unspoken, but it ringed so much louder than his statement.

Naruto gritted his teeth while giving Hagoromo a look. Under other circumstances, his expression might have been one of childish anger. Now it only seemed sincere.

"There is an alternative that I did not tell you earlier. This will be mankind's last resort."

"We'll do whatever it takes." Sasuke said, to Naruto's surprise. _A small statement towards their bond and mutual understanding, a giant step towards ending the cycle of hate._ A determined smile slowly crept onto Naruto's face.

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><p>The land was a mess when they touched down from the air above. "Naruto!? Sasuke-kun!?" Sakura said, concerned, while Kakashi observed.<p>

"We're alright Sakura-chan, but we don't have much time." Naruto said.

"It's impossible to seal Kaguya." Sasuke interjected. Both Sakura and Kakashi looked up as Sasuke reached the ground.

"We have to change our plan." Naruto went on. "The Shinju. The Divine Tree. We have to go to its core where the Chakra Fruit is formed. It's there now and it only forms once in a millennium."

"I don't think there will be someone in the next millennium who will carry out our plan. We have to assume this is mankind's last resort."

Sakura observed Naruto carefully. There were times when he was dead serious about something. When he flashed out those determined eyes only she could recognize. This was definitely one of them. The weight of their burden, to know that mankind's fate is in their hands was indescribable. Yet, she felt at ease whenever she saw Naruto's determination.

Somehow, she felt it would be alright if Naruto was present in their journey, together with the rest of Team 7 -no matter how slim the chances of succeeding were.

"First, we need to get out of this dimension into our world. Kaguya is recovering and she will soon hunt us down with whatever she's got." Sasuke continued along with Naruto's string of thought.

Kakashi was already forming the hand seals to get them out of this dimension without being told. "Let's roll!" he said. _Get them out first and talk about the plan on the way_. It was all he could think of as soon as he heard the statements from Naruto and Sasuke. The fact that he believed so much in his students did surprise him a little. He proceeded without questions or doubts. That's how much he trusted them.

Sasuke carefully observed Kakashi's hand seals with his eyes as if recording each and every step.

Soon, the portal to jump into their world opened. Sasuke wasted no time in jumping over with his newly adapted technique. In a blink of an eye, he was already on the other side of the portal, their 'real' world, and started to make another such light-speed jump towards the core of The Divine Tree.

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi quickly followed Sasuke's lead. Sakura made the jump first, followed by Naruto, and they continued forward. Kakashi, a few jumps behind them was about to follow as well. "Let's go, Kakashi-sensei." yelled Naruto from the other side. He briefly looked back and waited for his sensei, readying his Flying Thunder God kunai to transport the three of them with the speed of light.

To their horror, Naruto and Sakura saw the inter-dimensional pathway Kakashi created flickering. Kakashi fell on his knees. His eyes wide opened.

A black rod capable of corroding Obito's body into a pile of ash, now impaled Kakashi from behind, right through his heart.

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><p>It was all so sudden, but Naruto and Sakura could see what their teacher was trying to say. His words were too low and inaudible to be heard. They couldn't hear his voice from afar. He was so stubborn about never letting anyone see beneath his mask.<p>

Yet, they didn't need Kakashi to remove his mask in order to understand what he was trying to say. They knew him inside out and were able to decipher every small gesture and every single unheard word from underneath his mask.

_"Carry on the Will of Fire."_

It was a simple message, yet it sounded so powerful.

The Will of Fire believed the entire village -or the entire world in their current context, to be like a large family and every shinobi with the Will of Fire inside them fought to protect that family, to protect their village and now, to protect their world, as previous generations had done before them.

Naruto tried to reach out to Kakashi while shouting his name. Every millisecond seemed like an eternity while he jumped back in the quickly disappearing path, trying his best to save Kakashi. He was already just a short distance away from the entrance of the inter-dimensional portal Kakashi had created and just needed a few jumps to reach him. So close, yet so far.

The entrance completely closed just before his hand could reach through. He dimly saw Kakashi slowly turn into ashes. Suddenly, all those memories he shared with him were flashing back. He urged himself to fight the tears and anger, but it seemed impossible. He just lost Neji a few hours ago, he just lost his comrades' parents a while back, he just lost Obito. And now Kakashi-sensei too?

He seemed dazed and lost for a while, disbelieving of what had just happened, until a pair of warm hands touched his back gently.

"Please be strong. We need you to be strong... ", Sakura whispered brokenly. A tone of sadness in her words.

The brief pause seemed like an eternity. "Kakashi-sensei left without tears, he left with his head held high and with the belief that we're going to make it. We should fight until the end…" she said resolutely although Naruto could hear how hard she was fighting to stem the sadness from flowing through her teary eyes. Somehow she always knew what to say to lift his spirits up. She'd always been the strongest of the four of them.

"Sometimes, in order to move forward, we have to leave something behind…" Sakura said gently while slowly embracing Naruto from behind to comfort him. Placing her forehead on his back. Her hands around his waist.

She couldn't hold the sobs which slowly began to escape her. _"Am I the one who needs to be comforted?"_ was all she could think of. They'd went through so many ups and downs together. Their bond was strong; so much so that she knew exactly how he felt. And she dearly hoped it was the same for Naruto. Right now, all she wanted was for Naruto to be strong.

Though it may have sounded cold and harsh at the moment, yet, this was the very fact of being a shinobi and being a human.

To grow up as a mature individual, we need to leave our childhood behind. To reach towards happiness, we need to leave our sorrow behind. To move towards peace, we need to leave the hatred behind.

For every action, there is always an equal opposing reaction.

Naruto knew it won't be long until Kaguya regained enough power to open another gateway to enter this world. That will ultimately be the end of it. He stood up with newfound determination, wiping his small tears. "We will not let Kakashi-sensei's sacrifice go meaningless." Naruto said firmly. "Let's go."

With that, he turned back and held Sakura's hand to transfer his chakra. All while he stared at her deeply. She was briefly surprised, but said nothing nonetheless. She was aware that she was receiving a huge amount of chakra. Much larger than the one he gave her before. The diamond on her forehead slowly changed its color, showing the massive amounts of chakra she received. Her body began to glow, covered with a chakra cloak similar to Naruto's. There was no questioning what he was doing for her. All she needed to do now was to give her full support to both of her boys to salvage mankind.

She could see that Naruto was putting together a plan while he looked at her.

Naruto looked into the distance where Sasuke stood up on top of a high tree. He could see hurt on his face. It didn't take a genius to guess what had just happened to Kakashi-sensei. Though he was far away, somehow Naruto knew how Sasuke felt. Their eyes met and it seemed like they'd come to yet another agreement. With that, Sasuke turned and advanced towards The Divine Tree. Making another jump with his new technique.

Naruto threw his Flying Thunder God kunai with all his might into the distance. "Stay close to me, Sakura-chan." Naruto said while holding Sakura firmly, he performed a Hiraishin to catch up with Sasuke towards The Divine Tree, moving with Sakura at the speed of light.

There was something different in the way he said those words to her. She couldn't tell exactly, but it made her feel uneasy.

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><p>"We need to perform several hand seals on the Chakra Fruit." Naruto quickly explained to Sakura while they jumped. Upon landing, he picked up his kunai and swung another mighty throw towards the center of The Divine Tree. No time was wasted as he made another jump while holding Sakura firmly.<p>

"Hagoromo said the hand seals are written in the chamber where the Chakra Fruit is formed. That's right at the center there." He pointed out after another landing while picking up his kunai, preparing to make yet another jump.

Sakura listened carefully. For some reason, hearing Naruto tell her all this roused her suspicions. What was it all about? Who will perform the hand seals?

"Kaguya did not literally eat the Chakra Fruit. She consumed the divine knowledge that comes with the fruit through a series of hand seals written in the chamber." Naruto pointed out. "With that, she managed to harness the ultimate power, ended the wars and brought peace to the world in her era."

"_At the cost of sacrificing her human side and being consumed with the God-complex_", Sakura thought while listening to Naruto's plan. "_That marks the end of her rational thinking as a human, and marks the beginning of her descent into evil_". Divine power. Sakura was so disgusted at how much it could change people. She witnessed how Sasuke could throw away all his reason when he was lusting for power through the cursed seal. She was relieved that even though Naruto was currently harnessing such great power, he was never consumed with such greed.

"Hagoromo told us that the hand seals need to be performed backwards. Doing it so will undo all that Kaguya has ever achieved with the Chakra Fruit." he said, somehow unnecessarily tightening his hold on Sakura while making another jump.

"It will effectively eradicate her existence and release everyone from the Infinite Tsukiyomi." he said firmly. Sakura listened with a determined heart. She would definitely do whatever it takes for her boys to do the hand seals, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

"At what cost, Naruto? If she's the beginning of all chakra, how could she perform the hand seal without having the ability of chakra manipulation techniques like us? Who drew the hand seals' instruction there in the first place? How will reversing the hand seals undo all these things?" Sakura asked once they managed to get another landing. "_How trustworthy Hagoromo is?_", her thoughts continued trailing, though she didn't ask it out loud -worried that it might waive Naruto's confidence.

Naruto never answered her questions. "None of us can afford to worry about what Hagoromo is saying right now." he said, as if he was reading Sakura's trail of thoughts. Sakura saw something else in his expression. A sort of tranquility, as if in his grief he had found some kind of peace.

He made a point. Right now, they literally had no choice but to believe in Hagoromo. They couldn't afford to think that Hagoromo was an evil being with a cruel sense of humor to play a sickening joke on them, with mankind's last resort. For what it was worth, they needed to believe.

"We're almost there!" Naruto said abruptly, quickly changing the subject. They were almost at the center of The Divine Tree. "_A few more jumps_", he thought while throwing his kunai forwards. Sakura decided not to probe further and to trust him instead.

Sasuke reached the base of the tree, followed by Naruto and Sakura a few moments later. They looked up to the tree, while Naruto gently released Sakura from his hold. The center of it blooming high onto the sky.

"This is it." Naruto said resolutely.

"All is prepared?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah." Naruto responded. Firm and determined.

Sakura frowned. What was that supposed to mean? Something about the way Naruto said it… She didn't really understand what they were talking about, but that shouldn't be her concern now. She was determined to give it her all, even if it meant death. "_Much like Kakashi-sensei did"_, she thought decisively.

"Let's go Sakura-chan." Naruto said while preparing his Thunder God kunai.

Suddenly, he sensed danger and malice thanks to his Kyuubi form. He quickly pushed Sakura towards Sasuke while dodging a series of deadly projectiles aimed towards them.

"SHE'S HERE!", his yell was loud enough to make Sakura and Sasuke fully aware of their situation.

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><p>Kaguya Otsutsuki appeared behind them with that emotionless look and a determination to end her opponents' lives. She wasted no time and began to march forward.<p>

Sasuke and Sakura were briefly shocked, though they knew Kaguya could come back at any time after she gathered enough power to open the inter-dimensional portal. Could this be the end of it? Her mere presence was enough to slightly rattle their resolve to carry forward with their plans.

"Teme! Sakura-chan! Stay focused!", Naruto commanded to fortify his comrades' resolve. Somehow, his words reached their very core and they steeled themselves.

Naruto gave Sasuke a look, as if he was trying to communicate something. As if he was giving instructions to him to proceed with whatever plans they had devised. With a grim smile, Sasuke nodded and quickly made a hand seal. A forbidden hand seal with the power of the rinnegan and the sharingan, capable of replicating whatever techniques the eyes had observed. He had observed the technique that Kakashi used to create the inter-dimensional portal earlier.

With that capability, a large inter-dimensional portal to another dimension where Kaguya reigned was opened behind her. She was distracted and turned slightly to see the pathway.

Sensing his opening, Naruto quickly threw a rasengan at Kaguya with his left hand while jumping forward. "_This rasengan should be able to stun her!_" he thought fiercely. The surprise attack landed a successful hit on her, enough so that she was thrown a short distance away towards the portal. The attack must have been quite a blow as Kaguya stood stunned, still absorbing the damage she took.

At the same time, Naruto quickly prepared a Bijuu bomb with his right hand. Crafting the jutsu and pouring a good amount of chakra into it for its subsequent detonation, he shot the stunned Kaguya with all his might, effectively sending her much father towards the portal with the momentum of his jutsu.

Upon releasing his Bijuu bomb, he spun himself and threw a Flying Thunder God kunai up above towards the center of The Divine Tree with all his might. A brief moment later, far away inside Kaguya's dimension, the bomb finally blew up into a massive explosion in the form of a dome.

"_Great job, Naruto!_" Sakura thought in her battle-ready stance. Having her byakugou activated, she was ready to charge any time despite her unease. She saw Naruto throw his kunai up above towards the core of The Divine Tree. She was readying herself, expecting Naruto to reach her soon and make a jump upwards, when suddenly…

"Sasuke?" she heard Naruto say. "Nice reckless jump up there."

"Learned from the master," Sasuke replied standing next to her.

"Goodbye Naruto…" Sasuke said with a tone of sadness.

For an instant, Sakura thought she had misheard. But then she looked up at Naruto's face and the faint apology written on it.

"What?! NOOO!" she shouted with all her might after realizing the heavy implication. She tried to reach for Naruto only to be held back by Sasuke.

She now understood what Sasuke and Naruto had been planning all along. Sasuke created the portal behind Kaguya for Naruto to push her back into her dimension. He meant to fight her there. He meant to contain her there. He fully knew the portal will not be open permanently. To fight Kaguya alone in another dimension was practically suicide. She knew he wasn't aiming to win. He was going to buy some time for her and Sasuke to perform the reverse hand seals on the Chakra Fruit.

On Sasuke's arm, she saw a Hiraishin seal slowly appear._ "Naruto must have placed it on Sasuke's arm when we were in the other dimension."_ Likewise, on the back of her left arm, a seal of Hiraishin also slowly appeared. _"He's planning to perform a reverse jump by placing the seal on my arm too! He's going to transport us to where he threw his kunai!"_ she thought frantically. Only then she was able to completely realize what Naruto had been up to a while ago.

_"Stay close to me, Sakura-chan."_ She was told when they'd begun to jump a while back, not realizing that he planted a Hiraishin seal on the back of her arm.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" she demanded, voice broken while trying to break free.

"…Sometimes… to move forward..." he said while smiling at her fondly, "…we have to leave something behind."

"Naruto, please… don't do this to me…" Sakura said. "Please… Not like this, not without you..." she didn't realize she was crying. She would never have thought she'd feel this way for Naruto. Yes, she was aware that there were lingering unexplained feelings that she had for him. She left them dormant and unexplored. Wishing them to go away with time, otherwise she risked ruining her friendship with him.

She'd managed to survive parting with Sasuke a few years back, it was bitter but it helped her to grow.

But now, she wasn't sure if she could ever survive parting with Naruto. As the old saying went, _the moment when you're about to lose the person you love the most in life, you'll realize that he is the one._

She tried to break free to reach him. To tell him how she wanted his dream to come true. To tell him that they should go forward together.

She saw him activating the Hiraishin hand seals to reverse jump both herself and Sasuke up, towards the center of The Divine Tree where the kunai had almost reached its mark. She saw each and every hand seal that he made through the jewels of her tears, forming perfect orbs on the edge of her eyes. It felt like eternity. It felt like time was slowly stopping as she looked at him pleadingly.

Naruto looked at Sakura one last time, then activated the last hand seal.

"Sa—" he began, but swallowed.

"Sayounara, Sakura-chan…"

"Narutoooo!"

With that, Sakura and Sasuke were moved up to the center of The Divine Tree.

Resolutely, Naruto turned and jumped into the inter-dimensional portal, where Kaguya was trying to get up after the Bijuu bomb exploded.

_There is a beauty to this_, he thought as the inter-dimensional portal behind him closed. Leaving him in this unknown world to fight Kaguya all alone, all the while he hoped he could buy enough time for Sakura and Sasuke to proceed with their parts in their last ditch effort to salvage mankind's fate.

_[To be continued]_

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**Author's Note:**

This fan fiction took place in the event right after Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura collaborate to 'seal' Kaguya. It took the premise on 'what-if' the sealing of Kaguya was imperfect? What would it cost to Team 7 and the rest of the world?

This is my first ever attempt to write a fan fiction, so please be gentle :) I write this fiction within about 2+ hours to participate in H&E anniversary. English is not my native language, so, sorry if it contains so many grammar mistakes.

This story is a tribute to the series I read over a decade, which sadly ended up so disappointingly. I loved the concept of the story before the last few chapters, for whatever it's worth. A boy who never gives up, an arrogant rival who is trying to find an answer and a cheerful girl who supports both of them while growing up. This is my contribution to NS fans. You guys rocks! Our journey in canon universe might have ended, but fanfiction and fanon will continue. Let's enjoy in a positive way!

Anyways constructive feedback is appreciated. Thank you for investing your time reading my humble attempt! This will be a short multi chapters. I'm also available on tumblr at namaenasuyou dot tumblr dot com

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump.

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><p><em>[3 months before Pein Invasion –Konoha Shinobi Academy]<em>

"_Kiritsu!_" Shikamaru, the class head yelled, commanding everyone in the classroom to stand up as their sensei entered. "_Rei!_" everyone bowed to Kakashi-sensei. "_Chakuseki._" with that, everyone in the classroom sat down, readying themselves for the lesson. Sakura prepared her notes while Naruto sat casually beside her.

She sighed and wondered how he was so unorganized. She never saw him taking any notes in the class. "Naruto, is it too much to ask you to be more organized? From day one you've never taken any notes in the class. Your hokage dream is still alive, right? You should at least try to be a _decent_ example to your village." Sakura nagged him.

"Nah, taking notes is not my thing." Naruto replied casually.

"Yeah, tell that to my notes you borrowed last week and the week before. Why do you always borrow my notes without ever returning them?" Sakura grumped sweetly.

"I'm planning to have you as my secretary when I become hokage one day, dattebayo! Consider it as a pre-qualification process and training from me before I give you the job!" exclaimed Naruto.

"No thanks, I've learned from Shizune-senpai how _delightful_ it is to become a hokage's adjutant."

"Hey, I'll buy you those _shiratama anmitsu_ every day. I'll even prepare it for you! Just imagine both of us eating in the Hokage room, one is craving for _ramen_, the other is craving _anmitsu_."

"You'll have to try harder than that, baka."

To the classroom, no, to everyone and to Sai especially, both of them nagging each other every day was a common occurrence. People even wondered how they were able to work together in the same team. Sai tried interjecting their morning routine, "I read in a book that people always try to remind those they lov-"

"_Urusai!_" Sakura threw her eraser with her chakra enhanced strength at him before he could finish his line.

"Yo!" Kakashi-sensei greeted casually to the class. He was planning to conduct a lesson different from the usual topics of his expertise. "Today, we're going to start differently than usual." "We'll try to discuss about ourselves." He said.

"Let's ask ourselves this simple question… 'What is a shinobi?'"

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"I'd like your active participation, so, please raise your hands to speak up." The students shared their opinions one by one on the matter.

"Tch, how troublesome… I guess a shinobi is a warrior equipped with the knowledge and skills to execute his assigned task and maintain peace in this world. To protect The King." Shikamaru answered.

"A shinobi is a person with the power of youth and the spirit to do youthful things!" Lee retorted.

"Shinobi are a group of people devoted themselves whatever they are tasked with." Sai responded.

"I think a shinobi is someone who will never leave their comrades behind, who will fight for the greater good and for the people they love. Shinobi not just heal people's wounds and injuries, they also protect them and their future." Sakura answered resolutely.

Everyone's attention went to Naruto, the class clown, the last one in the class who supposed to give his answer. Though on the surface he seemed casual, he actually listened carefully to his classmates' opinion one by one. As if gathering his thoughts, he finally responded…

"A shinobi… is someone who endures."

The classroom laughed, except for Sakura and Kakashi who looked deeply into his determined eyes.

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**The Endurance: Part II**

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><p><em>[Present day –The Divine Tree]<em>

Both Sasuke and Sakura flickered as they touched down up at the edge of The Divine Tree's core. Sakura couldn't believe what had just transpired. It all happened so fast. She tried one more time to break free, only to be stopped by Sasuke.

"Let me go! Sasuke-kun, please! Naruto is down there–"

"Stop it, Sakura!" Sasuke said. "This is his decision!"

"I have to help him!"

"Sakura! Snap out of it! Don't waste his sacrifice!" Sasuke said making Sakura numb. She seemed to be deep in thought for a while. There was no point arguing with Sasuke. The three of them were as densely stubborn as a chakra enhanced brick. Nothing could change their decisions once they reached them.

"Why Naruto?! Why him?" Sakura demanded.

"Both of us knew I could hardly land any meaningful hit on Kaguya…"

"Naruto is the strongest one amongst the four of us. We all know it. He told me if I were to buy him some time, I will just be throwing away my life and all the effort would be wasted." Sasuke admitted.

"Look Sakura, I'm sorry about Naruto." he said. "He made his decision for us. His case _is_ in the past. We are the future. Mankind depends on us." Sasuke gave Sakura a look and under any other circumstance, his expression might have seemed earnest. Now it only seemed arrogant.

Sakura seemed to stop struggling to break free as if she was planning something. Sasuke released her and let her collect her thoughts. Allowing her to grieve for a while and piece together her heart before they continued with their plan.

"Alright… but on one condition. If we manage to finish what we're planning to do, I want you to open the portal for me." Sakura said with a voice full of determination while wiping her tears.

"With or without you, I'll go and find Naruto."

Sasuke did not respond. Sakura took it as a yes.

The core of The Divine Tree was located at its very top. At a glance, it looked like a dome decorated with a giant flower. Sakura took a look around from the top of this _being_. She could see her world from above. This was by far the tallest structure she had ever been on.

Vast oceans, forests and mountains. All combined together in the horizon, depicting a beautiful image. But she could not stand the silence. There was literally no life that she could see. It was all dead silent. Everyone was trapped in the Infinite Tsukiyomi. Everyone except her, Sasuke and Naruto.

The fact that the Kyuubi chakra cloak Naruto gave her earlier was still actively wrapping and protecting her brought her some hope. He was still alive, fighting Kaguya and buying them some time. Naruto was doing his best. So should she.

If she could finish this task soon, she'll be able to go and find him. Out of everything else, somehow, finding Naruto and pulling him back to this world seemed to be of equal priority as saving their world.

If she failed this task, the whole of humanity would perish. If she didn't manage to complete it fast enough, Naruto will be in trouble and, God forbid, Kaguya will come after them.

Success was the only option, failure was not.

She saw some sort of gate up ahead in the center of the core. That must have been the entrance. Sasuke seemed to have seen it too. "Let's go." She said, jumping towards the gate to carry out their plan.

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Naruto was doing his best to fight Kaguya. Hagoromo was right. After the unsuccessful attempt to seal her, she seemed to have lost some of her abilities. He never saw her make a jump and reappear elsewhere. All she did ever since she was pushed back was attack and dodge.

_"Her chakra is unlimited. Yours is not. She will buy some time until both of you suffer from chakra depletion."_ He remembered what Hagoromo had said earlier. True enough, but that would not stop him from fighting her.

_"Come on Sakura-chan, Sasuke, please make it in time…"_

With that, he made another Bijuu bomb and charged Kaguya for the umpteenth time.

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"I'll stay here and make sure Kaguya won't cross my line if she comes back." Sasuke said a short distance away from the gate. "I cannot go inside Sakura."

For an instant, Sakura thought she'd misheard. An expression of shock painted her face.

"Both me and Naruto cannot enter the chamber. Hagoromo said we are carrying Kaguya's chakra signature as her descendants. She consumed the divine knowledge and created shinobi world."

"She, along with her descendants will not be able to reverse the divine knowledge that she consumed. We won't be able to cast the reverse hand seals and undo all of this. That's what Hagoromo told us."

Sakura stood aghast. What was that supposed to mean?

"What else are you hiding from me, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded.

"Some things aren't meant to be known. But this is our last resort. This is mankind's last hope." Sasuke told her.

_That's it?_ Sakura wondered. "How do I know you're not lying like you always do?" She asked fiercely, remembering their brief encounter at The Land of Iron, where he almost stabbed her from behind.

"I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to trust Naruto." Sasuke answered.

True enough, she trusted Naruto with all her heart. If the same statement Sasuke just said came from Naruto's mouth, she would've never doubted it. That was the extent she was willing to trust in him. Naruto was not physically there with them, but she could imagine him struggling to fight Kaguya. He ran the risk of running out of chakra. And she fully knew that the more she spent her time arguing with Sasuke, the less chances Naruto had of survival.

Her Kyuubi chakra cloak was still active and that was the only thing that gave her some sense of comfort. _"Neither of us can afford to worry about what Hagoromo is saying right now."_ Naruto had said earlier.

Holding Naruto's kunai, Sasuke performed a few hand seals. A moment later, the kunai turned into a scroll.

"Here's the knowledge about The Divine Tree's core –the chamber you're about to enter. Hagoromo gave it to us. It's the key to enter inside the core."

"Naruto decided to henge it as his Thunder God kunai, or else Kaguya might have noticed our plan and hunted down whoever was holding it. We didn't have time to understand it when Hagoromo gave it to us." Sasuke said while presenting her the scroll.

"All the while, we've been planning to prepare you and Kakashi-sensei to execute this part, since neither of us can do it."

"Unfortunately, Kakashi-sensei couldn't make it." Sasuke said, behind his emotionless expression, somehow, there was a hint of sadness.

"So, I guess, Naruto knew you were the only hope we have. He must have poured more than two thirds of his chakra in you. Judging from the density of it, Kaguya's deadly rod won't be able to penetrate your shield. Even if Kaguya managed to shoot her deadliest blast, Naruto would ensure you're protected."

Sakura was briefly surprised. That explained the massive amount of chakra she received from Naruto earlier. It was extraordinarily immense, to an extent that she'd initially thought unnecessary.

"Even if it's not for the sake of saving the world, knowing Naruto, he'll give it all to you to ensure you're safe." Sasuke said, pointing out Naruto's over protective nature when it came to Sakura.

Sakura's chest tightened. She wished she knew it earlier. Naruto had done so much for her. She was astounded at how much he thought forward. He was a natural strategist at his core.

She shouldn't waste any more time. Get things done there, get back here fast and pull Naruto back to this world. She quickly grabbed the scroll and was about to march towards the gate of the core, when suddenly…

"One last thing. Hagoromo told us that 'time' inside the chamber becomes relative." Sasuke informed.

"It can squeeze or it can stretch. Few hours spent in the chamber, may translate into a few minutes in this world. But it all depends on what you're doing, the opposite may also apply." Sasuke relayed.

"Good luck…." Sasuke said.

"Thank you. I hope you'll prepare the inter-dimensional portal for me to get Naruto once I'm done there." Sakura said confidently.

_"Wait for me, Naruto…"_

With that, she rushed towards the core of The Divine Tree.

_[To be continued]_

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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**Author's Note: **

Hello Folks,

Thank you so much for reading this fiction and thank you for reviewing. The theme of this fiction is about moving on, hope and endurance. Once I started with the first chapter, somehow I couldn't stop with the remaining ones ;)

This will be a multi chapter fiction, though it will not be that huge. My background is engineering. So, you'll find a fair bit of reference to it in this fiction, since my view to the world is very limited and constrained with the knowledge I have. For those who observed and found Newton's Third Law in the previous chapter, kudos to you! :)

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.

**Hanmac**: thanks! Though I'm not sure if she'd be ok with extra horns, but you'll find out.

**Ninjashooter**: thanks! I have all the pieces right now and I'm planning to release it on weekly basis. Please stay tuned.

**Literal Note:**

"_Kiritsu_", "_Rei_" and "_Chakuseki_" literally means "Stand", "Bow" and "Sit" respectively. It is used commonly in Japanese classroom before the class starts. I made the reference to recall my days as a Japanese high school exchange student about 15+ years back. Before I started my university days there few months later.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump.

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><p><em>[Right after the event in Road to Ninja movie –Top of Hokage Monument, Konohagakure]<em>

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere." Sakura said, after she found Naruto at his usual place. The place where he would normally go to find solitude.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Mind if I join you?" Sakura asked. Naruto gave her a smile and gently cleaned the spot beside him. Sakura thanked him while sitting by him, enjoying the view of Konoha bathed in moonlight. Although they were still rebuilding after Pein's attack, the serenity of their village had its own beauty. _"Ah, the peacefulness…No wonder he likes to spend time here by himself"._

It amazed her that this was about the same spot she and Naruto used to sit at some time ago, when they were 'transported' to that strange world. A strange dimension where everyone acted the opposite of themselves. She wasn't exactly sure what happened –whether it was just a sickening illusion, or whether they were physically transported to another world. Human knowledge was so limited.

The fact that she and Naruto had bruises on their bodies, and were battered even after the genjutsu was broken did tell her one thing: that the world they'd visited was not just imaginary. It physically existed, though she didn't have any explanation for it.

"What brings a cute girl to visit this place at this hour?" Naruto asked slyly to lighten up the mood. He'd decided to come here to reflect upon the events that had just occurred. He just bade farewell to his 'parents' in the alternate dimension and needed some time to clear up his mind.

"What brings a boy to visit this place after he had his longest date ever?" Sakura countered with a smirk, trying to tease Naruto. _Ah, the friendly banter._

"Are you suggesting that we continue our longest date ever?" Naruto replied trying his luck.

"I'll consider it if you can cast Infinite Tsukiyomi on the both of us again."

"Careful there Sakura-chan, for all you know, I might be Madara in disguise." Naruto said while lowering his voice an octave to a bit more baritone nature, trying to mimic Madara's voice with utter failure. Sakura giggled. It seemed so natural for both of them to tease each other.

"I cannot thank you enough after what happened today." Sakura said after a long silence. Naruto smiled at her, implicitly saying _'Don't mention it'._

They sat there for a while, admiring the beauty of their village. The image of Naruto wearing the Hokage robe was still fresh in her mind. She pondered on it for a while.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you want to be the hokage?" Her question did surprise him a little. As if gathering his thoughts, he finally answered. "…At first, I thought I wanted to be acknowledged by all the villagers. But I realized, it is much more than that…" Naruto explained. Sakura listened carefully.

"It's geometric progression, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a firm tone.

"Geometric progression?" Sakura asked with her eyebrows raised. She looked at him to make sure she heard him correctly. Of all the things, she never expected this answer from him. She knew the subject perfectly. A sequence of numbers where each term after the first is found by multiplying the previous one by a fixed, non-zero number called the common ratio.

_"…2, 6, 18, 54 is a geometric progression with a common ratio of 3." _the image of Iruka-sensei explaining the theory in one of her classes flashed in her mind. She knew it perfectly, she was just not sure if Naruto was being serious. Although it was a scientific theory, it had many practical applications in the shinobi world. She knew Ino's telepathic jutsu to relay messages to multiple persons was based on it. "Is he serious?" she thought while placing her few fingers on Naruto's forehead, checking his temperature, making sure he was not being delirious or hallucinating. Naruto just smiled.

"Yeah… Do you remember? Anyways, you asked me once why I always borrow your notes without ever returning them to you." Naruto said. "Truth is, I find the personal remarks you write on the subjects to be far more interesting than the subject itself." He chuckled a bit. "Do you remember what you wrote in your notes for geometric progression?"

Slowly, a smile crept on Sakura's face, realizing where the conversation was going. _"Of course I remember..." _she thought.

"You wrote in your notes that…"

_"…If I can heal two people…"_ Sakura thought, remembering what she wrote.

"…If you can heal two people, and in turn each of them can save three people, you'll have saved at least six people. And if each of these six people can save another three people, you'll end up saving at least eighteen people." Naruto remembered, echoing Sakura's thoughts.

"…Unlike you, my hands aren't made to heal people. They're made to protect them…" Naruto continued. "The strength of one person is limited, Sakura-chan. So, I'll protect all I can, even if it's just a few, I'll protect what's important… In turn, the people I protect will protect those around them. The ratio multiplies." he slowly stood up.

"In order for me to protect everyone in this village…" Naruto said, looking at his village with eyes full of determination.

"…you'd need to be at the very top of that progression." Sakura said, continuing his trail of thoughts, standing up beside Naruto, looking far into their village. Somehow she knew what he was going to say. They'd been around each other for so long anyways. Funny how her little remarks could inspire him. _True bonds bring out the best from each other, indeed._

"I'm a powerless human by myself. Because of that, I need your help in order to protect everything." Naruto said while placing his hands on Sakura's shoulders. They looked at each other resolutely.

"I will protect people around me. I will protect _you_, Sakura-chan. And in turn, _you_ will protect those _around you_. Protect those only you can, even if it's only a few... And those around you would also protect those around them."

"No matter what happens, you have to live, Sakura-chan! You have to fight until the end to protect those around you."

"Live, Sakura-chan! Live, and let's protect this village together!"

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><p>-X-<p>

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**The Endurance: Part III**

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><p><em>[Present day –The Core of The Divine Tree]<em>

Sakura landed with a thud inside the core of The Shinju, holding the scroll Sasuke gave her. It seemed that the scroll was literally the key to enter the core. When she approached it, she saw the scroll glow suddenly and was teleported inside in the blink of an eye.

She concluded that the gate was not actually a door to be opened, but rather a portal to teleport people inside. Most likely, only people holding the key –the scroll given by Hagoromo, would be teleported.

She steeled herself and stood for a while, analyzing her surroundings. _"So, this is the chamber Naruto and Sasuke-kun talked about."_ It was bright and so much bigger inside the core than it looked like from outside. She felt like a small ant roaming around inside of a flower's core. _"This is about at least five times the size of the Hokage building."_

The shape of the core was spherical, she stood on a straight path leading to the center. The path looked exactly like a bridge, it was literally a wide string connecting the edge and the center of the core, where she assumed the Chakra Fruit formed. It didn't stand on any underlying structure, but it was hanging between the edge and the center, providing a passage between the two points.

She noticed other similar pathways around the gigantic spherical hall, leading to the center. If she considered the paths using the cardinal directions analogy, she could see that all the paths formed a perfect combination.

She suddenly realized that on the side of the scroll, there was a circular drawing, similar to a compass. On that circular drawing, there were five points. Four on the edges of the circle and one in the center. She noticed the 'north' point of the circular shape in the scroll emitted a light, whereby the others did not.

_"If this path I'm standing on is 'north' and I'm facing towards the center, the one situated opposite of me will be 'south'. Likewise, that path on my right side will be 'west', and left side will be 'east'."_ She denoted, observing all the paths leading to the center of the core and associating them with the symbols on the side of the scroll. _"North, south, east and west..."_

_"That bright object in the center must be the Chakra Fruit."_ she thought, while observing the strange illuminating bright object in the center. It emitted the same color as the scroll in her hand.

She saw one thing in common for each of the paths. There was a 'gate' similar to the one that stood behind her. She recalled before entering the core that she never saw any other gates. She only saw one gate which transported her inside.

_"If I entered from my world using this gate behind me, could it be that the other gates lead to other worlds? Other dimensions perhaps?"_ she speculated.

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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As she continued observing, she noticed that the wall of the chamber stroke a chord with her, as a medic. The wall comprised of small objects, combined together to form a massive structure. The small objects looked exactly like a plant cell. The only difference was that these 'plant cells' were the size of half her palm, much larger than what she's ever seen on an actual plant or herb.

She felt like vomiting when she looked closely at the wall of this core –at each of the cells. She saw a human face drawn in each and every one of them.

A sleeping human face in each cell. Once in a while the plant cell flickered to display some unfamiliar image. As if it was showing the sleeping human's dream.

Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. This was absolutely inhumane to the people trapped. The Shinju. The Divine Tree. It captured humans and put them into a sleep in exchange of a beautiful dream –an illusion, based on their deepest desires.

To The Divine Tree, the captured human was nothing more than a cell in which energy is harvested to feed the tree. Much like how the mitochondrion supplies cellular energy to a living organism. And if she understood correctly from Kaguya, eventually the captured human will be turned into a white zetsu –into Kaguya's army.

_"Why did she need an army in the first place? It doesn't make any sense. She's already enslaving humanity with this tree, what's more to it?"_ she thought, puzzled.

If anything, she knew that whatever plan Kaguya devised didn't end at the part where mankind is enslaved. That part was probably just a stepping stone to something even bigger. Whatever it was, she didn't have much time to ponder upon it.

_"One last thing. Hagoromo told us that 'time' inside the chamber becomes relative." Sasuke had told her earlier. "It can squeeze or it can stretch. A Few hours spent in the chamber, may translate into a few minutes in this world."_ She recalled what Sasuke said.

She related the information with the flickering dreams on each and every captured human visible through the plant cell. _"The Infinite Tsukiyomi started only a short time ago, but it seems that the captured human has already 'lived' their dreams for days now."_

_"Time is relative. It seems that it is slower here than the world outside. A Few hours that I spend here would translate into a few minutes on Earth."_ She concluded. With that, she marched towards the center of the core, where the Chakra Fruit was formed.

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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In another dimension, another world far away from the Earth, a warrior was doing the best he could to fight Kaguya.

_"I have to buy as much time as I can."_ Naruto thought fiercely. He didn't have much chakra left from what he could feel. He was in a pretty bad shape with bruises everywhere. He noticed Kaguya also looked considerably weakened.

She never threw those deadly rods again towards him. It was either conventional direct attacks with taijutsu, or a chakra enhanced energy ball that she shot across from a distance. He calculated that most probably, his attacks broke some more of her chakra pathways, enough so that she couldn't use the rods again.

_"Naruto, did you notice?"_ Kurama asked.

_"Yeah, she's weakening. We should plan on how to preserve our remaining chakra."_ Naruto said. He remembered what Hagoromo told him and Sasuke about time's relativity inside the chamber. That time could squeeze or it could stretch.

Naruto had actually been fighting Kaguya for at least a good hour now. She was slowing down, as if trying to conserve chakra which he decided she'll use to open the portal and go to The Shinju in his world.

Once in a while, Kaguya stood still, seemingly absorbing the surrounding chakra. Whenever she did that, Naruto quickly sped up his tempo and attacked her.

He needed to buy as much time as was possible, but the question was, how much should he? How much would be enough for Sakura to carry out her part? But there was no time to doubt his comrades now. All he could do was to give his all to protect them. To protect Sakura-chan, and Sasuke. In turn, they would protect those around them.

_"Live, and let's protect this village together, Sakura-chan!"_

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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Sakura reached the center of the core. It was a circular platform as big as her classroom. She steeled herself and prepared to execute the plan Naruto and Sasuke briefly informed her.

At the center of the platform, the bright object slowly dimmed its light as she approached with the scroll in her hand. Before she opened the scroll, she carefully examined her surroundings.

The Chakra Fruit looked like a spherical object, floating in the center of The Divine Tree's core. There were instructions written on the floor surrounding the center of the core. In a glance, it indeed looked like a series of hand seals instructions. But who put those here in the first place?

The fact that her Kyuubi cloak was still active gave her a bit of relief. Naruto was still alive, fighting Kaguya with his all. _This Kyuubi cloak would at least act as my shield if something attacked me._

"Here we go..." She said while carefully opening the scroll.

To her surprise, something in the form of light suddenly appeared from the scroll, reaching towards her face. It was so sudden that she had no time to react. The object grabbed her neck and her face, while she shrieked.

_"Narutooo…"_ was all she could think of before she dropped to her knees on the floor.

_[To be continued]_

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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**Author's Note: **

Hello Folks,

Thanks again for reading this piece. I hope you find it entertaining. So, we're marching towards the end and frankly, I'm trying my best to put a logical break for each chapter. I'll try to cut as much as possible and write only the essence of the story.

Based on the situation in the war, I find it difficult to explore the main characters feelings and their interaction in their daily life. Therefore, I think the only way to correlate and introduce some relaxing scene which explore their bonds is through the flashback at the beginning of the chapters. You'll find that the things touched up on the flashback will be used subsequently in the chapter.

I've also updated the rating of this piece to 'M', due to some content in the epilogue that I've prepared. For those younger audience, I'm sorry about it. But I promise you that the chapter before the epilogue can still be consumed by all age segments.

Thanks again for your time to read my very first fiction ever. Constructive feedback is appreciated! I hope you enjoy it! Again, NaruSaku journey in canon universe might have ended, but fanfiction and fanon will continue. Let's enjoy in a positive way!

I liked the concept, although the author said it was a deliberate mislead, I can't help but laugh at his statement. Yeah right, deliberate mislead. Please tell that to your fans in Japan who root for NaruSaku for the past 15 years.

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.

**Ahmadaziz**: thank you! Yes, I've finally decided to make a fanfiction account. My view is very limited to what I know, coming as an engineer / researcher. So, please don't set your expectation too high :D

**happy everyday life**: thanks! I'll update the story on weekly basis. It's not that long and it'll probably be concluded within this month.

**poppy grave dreams**: thank you. Please stay tuned!

**Iron Monkey Fist**: thank you! Unfortunately English is not really my mother tongue, though it is used every day in my country. I hope you enjoy the story.

**RxN**: thanks! I've been following the manga for about 13-14 years, though it ended up disappointingly, I suppose this is my contribution to NS community.

**Literal Note:**

For those who are interested, there are some references to _Geometric Progression_ in this chapter. Hiromu Arakawa started using this reference in her Full Metal Alchemist, and I think she used it perfectly.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump.

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><p>It was pitch black.<p>

_Where am I?_ Sakura thought in her mind. She could not see anything, she could not hear anything. It was all black and silent, when suddenly…

_"I will bring him back to you, Promise of a Lifetime!"_ That voice sounded very familiar to her, she could not remember it clearly, but it felt as if someone was calling her from the distance. Someone she held very dear. Someone very important.

The string of voices continued, one sentence after another. It started dim and low, yet calm and reassuring.

_"A shinobi is someone who endures."_ She heard the voice again as if the person was speaking right next to her. She tried to seek out the person in the darkness. Desperately hoping that she could hold on to this person, to this voice. She heard the string of voices become louder and clearer, as if encouraging her not to give up.

_"Live, Sakura-chan! Live, and let's protect this village together!"_ It was the last thing that she heard, loud and clear before it abruptly dimmed out and fell silent.

Sakura woke up sharply and opened her eyes. "Naruto!" she yelled. To her surprise, she awakened in a very unfamiliar place. It was all very bright.

"You're finally awake, young one." Sakura heard a woman's voice from her behind. She instinctively turned back to where the voice was coming from and suddenly got terrified to her core.

Kaguya Otsutsuki stood before her, smiling.

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><p>-X-<p>

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**The Endurance: Part IV**

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><p><em>[Present day –The Other Dimension]<em>

Naruto crashed through the hill and onto the land below. The last hit from Kaguya really hit its mark. He could feel his body withering under the onslaught.

_Damn_, Naruto thought. He could hardly imagine a worse place to face off against Kaguya. The battlefield was literally empty and lifeless. This world comprised of vast fields and hills, no seas, no rivers, no trees, no _life_. There was no one here to help him. This fight was between Kaguya and him alone–with the help of Kurama.

The vengeful God of Chakra didn't give Naruto time to figure out a plan. She dived through and broke the hill above Naruto, landing on a platform some distance away from her foe. Naruto made a retreating jump to the nearest hill.

They looked at each other cautiously, even as Naruto prayed that Kaguya wouldn't take notice of his diminishing chakra reserves.

_"This is it, huh?"_ Naruto asked Kurama.

"…" Kurama did not respond, but he knew exactly what his host was implying. Both of them were running out of time and it wouldn't take long before their chakra was completely depleted.

Naruto launched himself, knowing fully that this would probably be one of his last moves. Kaguya took the challenge and launched forward. Both jumping up in the sky to crash into each other.

They met head on, like opposing storms in this other dimension. The resulting thunderclap could be heard way across onto the hills and terrain beyond them. The fight of the most powerful shinobis rose to new heights as Kaguya and Naruto traded blows in the heavens before tumbling to the ground like fallen angels.

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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Sakura immediately got into her battle stance. Preparing to launch herself to fight Kaguya, when suddenly…

"You made it," Kaguya said. "I prayed to Heaven that someone would make it this far, but actually seeing you here, a human, in this sacred chamber." She smiled ruefully. "Kami-sama, I wish Hagoromo and Hamura could have witnessed this."

Sakura puzzled, unsure about the situation. Yes, Kaguya was standing right in front of her. But this Kaguya, or whoever she was, looked very different from the one she encountered before.

This Kaguya was… comforting. As if her mere presence and her demeanor suddenly brought ease to Sakura's clouded mind.

"Who are you?"

"I am Kaguya Otsutsuki. Or rather…" she corrected herself, "…a shadow of her. Her conscious and conscience. I have waited an eternity for this very moment. Don't worry, I am on your side."

"What?" Sakura asked, perplexed.

"I am the real Kaguya Otsutsuki. The one who ended the wars and brought peace to mankind. The true one, before my physical body was taken by the spirit of The Divine Tree. Before I was consumed with the God-complex and lost my humanity." Kaguya explained.

"Seeing a human being in this chamber, and getting released from the scroll after a millenia can only mean one thing: that the physical Kaguya Otsutsuki has been revived and the world you are coming from is in great danger."

"I'd like you to listen very carefully young one." Kaguya asked.

"We are now in your sub-conscious. It is an effect of my knowledge being transferred to you after you opened Hagoromo's scroll. Once the knowledge transfer is completed, you'll regain your consciousness and you will understand The Divine Tree completely. You will understand how to operate it."

_I see_, Sakura thought. The scroll was a mechanism to store Kaguya's consciousness to be made available when someone managed to open it inside the Shinju's core. It didn't just contain information, but it also transferred the knowledge, so that the person opening the scroll wouldn't need to learn it from scratch.

It all made sense to Sakura now. Learning a shinobi scroll would typically take days, months or even years. This mechanism was something new to her –to transfer the knowledge in a scroll to anyone opening it. Whoever made the scroll must have planned long ahead. And whatever that plan entailed, it obviously involved an urgency to avoid spending time learning the contents of the scroll.

"My children sealed me and stored my physical body in the moon. One of them guarded it to ensure the physical body, the one _taken_ by The Divine Tree could never see the world again. The other one taught humankind how to manipulate chakra, for them to protect themselves should this day arrive." She continued.

"I was once an ordinary person. Similar to you. My husband was a warrior fighting to bring peace to this world."

Kaguya gestured broadly and an array of animated images surrounded them. Ancient text and images scrolled past. It was very immersive, as if Sakura stood there experiencing the story herself as Kaguya filled in the details.

"We promised that we would do our best to end the wars, to bring peace to the world… However, my only redeeming trait was my intelligence, whereas my husband was known for his strength and willpower."

"Someone, or _something_, sent me signs and messages through a series of dreams. The dreams repeated in a constant pattern throughout the years to teach me the knowledge about The Divine Tree."

"The tree started with this core. It was just as big as the center of the core, if not smaller. It started with this chamber, together with the Chakra Fruit in the middle of it. Only I and my husband knew where it was located, through my dreams."

"Through the dreams, they told me how to reach here and how to harness the ultimate power." Kaguya continued as the series of images continue their animation, flashing her memories of the events as they happened long ago. Sakura was amazed as she continued to get absorbed in Kaguya's memories.

"We devised a plan to come here, to this very chamber in The Divine Tree, hoping that we could utilize the power to bring peace." Kaguya said, remembering her past.

"My husband did his best to protect me, so I could consume the divine knowledge, and in turn, protect humanity. I managed to consume it and harnessed the ultimate power."

"However, I was too late. I could not save my husband, despite gaining the power that I just harnessed. He died a hero's death, leaving me and my children to continue his dream." Kaguya said with a tone of sadness in her voice. Sakura saw the animated images of Kaguya shedding tears beside her late husband on the battlefield. Her sons with their battle gear stood by her side, mourning their loss.

"We finally ended the wars in the hope of establishing eternal peace in mankind." Kaguya continued.

"… But, not long after, we found out the true evil intention behind The Divine Tree."

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><p>-XXXXX-<p>

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The animated images altered to show something different. Something Sakura was familiar with, as she was there in that _dimension_ a while ago. A dimension covered with magma all over the places, where the physical Kaguya transported her, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. The Boiling Dimension.

"The Divine Tree requires living beings to feed itself." Kaguya continued.

"Not just a few hundred lives, but at the very least, an entire living race in the planet itself." Kaguya continued her gesture, showing the surroundings of the boiling dimension and a mass of people living in it.

"From what I learned, it has managed to eat the living beings in this boiling dimension, turned them into white zetsus to invade the _opposing dimension_."

"The Opposing Dimension?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, its opposing dimension." Kaguya gestured. The animated images turn to show the opposing dimension. A dimension covered with ice and blizzards all over the places, the same dimension she was transported together with Team 7. The Frost Dimension.

"In this universe, for each individual world or dimension, there exists an equal dimension with opposing attributes. Just like a mirror." Kaguya said.

"The Divine Tree uses the living race in a dimension to feed itself and harvest white zetsus. It will use the zetsus as an army to conquer the opposing dimension. The core of the Divine Tree acts as a wormhole to transport itself together with the zetsus across galaxies into the opposing dimension."

"Once conquered, it will eat the living beings in the new dimension to feed itself and harvest a new set of army white zetsus army to invade other dimensions. The cycle continues."

"On the opposite of the world where everything is covered in boiling magma, there lies a world where everywhere is covered in blizzards and ice."

_So, that means the dimensions that I was transported to before were real. And it was inhabited with their own races and people –before they were annihilated._ Sakura suddenly remembered the cardinal direction symbol on the side of Hagoromo's scroll. _North, south, east, west… If I'm coming from the 'north'…_

"Does it mean that there is an opposing dimension for the world I'm coming from?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Kaguya answered purposefully and gestured her hands. The animated images turned to display something else. Although Kaguya told Sakura about the dimension opposite to her world, Sakura was suddenly aware that this place was very familiar to her.

She was in her room. Her very familiar room. There was no mistaking it.

"Where am I? What is this place?" She asked Kaguya.

"This is the dimension opposite of yours. The dimension which will also be destroyed if you fail to stop the physical Kaguya in harvesting white Zetsu and invading this world." Kaguya answered.

Sakura felt like a ghost roaming through her room. She realized she could not physically touch the objects surrounding her. It was real, yet surreal.

She dimly heard a kid's voice from another room, followed by a familiar laughter –her own voice, a man's voice, and a kid's laughter. Curious, she roamed past her room, down below to where she heard the voices. Upon seeing them, she was surprised.

Right before her eyes, she saw an older version of herself, an older version of Naruto and a kid celebrating an event.

"Menma, help me in lighting the candle, please." She saw the older version of herself gesturing to the one called Menma, who looked exactly like Naruto.

Then realization hit her, remembering the events a few months back, when Obito casted Infinite Tsukiyomi on both Naruto and her. It was not an illusion. It was a tangible world. It physically existed. Both of them were transported to this very world, their _Opposite Dimension_. It appeared that this dimension's time was moving faster than their's.

She could then relate to the event. She had spent days or at least a week in that dimension, trying to find a way to return to their home. But when she and Naruto returned, they were still at the same spot where Obito casted Infinite Tsukiyomi, as if it was only a mere few moments that passed. _Time is relative_.

"Sure Sakura-chan, one candle will cost you one loving kiss later tonight." Menma whispered to her slyly, trying his luck. The older version of Sakura blushed and pinched him while smiling. "I'll give you more than that, _baka_…" The older Sakura whispered back and gave a lovely wink.

"Happy birthday Shinachiku…" she said gently to the kid.

"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad. I love you so much…" the kid replied.

Sakura smiled fondly at the picture of this family.

_"So… this is what could have been…"_ she thought with teary eyes.

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Kaguya made another gesture, and they were back to Sakura's sub-conscious.

"Hagoromo managed to seal a part of me into the scroll before I completely turned to evil. Hoping that in time, someone will be able to make it here alive and undo whatever we've done."

"It's time for you to wake up and realize his hopes." Kaguya said.

"By now, your mind has been equipped with the knowledge on how to operate The Divine Tree's core and how to use the Chakra Fruit." She continued.

Sakura listened carefully. "Thank you, Kaguya-sama. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Alright." Kaguya explained. "Sakura Haruno, we will undo all the things Kaguya managed to do with The Chakra Fruit."

"With immediate effect, undoing all of this will cause chakra in this world to be returned to the state before all this transpired. Human beings will no longer be able to use chakra, going forward." Kaguya said.

Sakura was shocked, but braced herself nonetheless. She'd do whatever it takes to save all the living beings on earth, even if it meant that there will be no more chakra manipulation. No more shinobi system.

"The process requires three steps." Kaguya continued.

"First, you have to use the Chakra Fruit to communicate with the people of your world captured by The Shinju. You have to wake them up from their dream."

"Secondly, you have to gather all the chakra from people captured by The Shinju to form the Ultimate Chakra Sphere which you will use to eradicate the physical Kaguya from existence. The sphere can be used by whoever is fighting Kaguya right now. Reading from your memory, I understand your friend is fighting her in another dimension?" Kaguya asked.

"Yes, he's containing her there to buy time for us." Sakura answered.

"That would be even better. Otherwise using the sphere on Earth will cause massive damage." Kaguya told her.

"The final step would be to eradicate Kaguya. Eradicating her from existence with all the combined chakra in this world will complete the process. The Divine Tree will collapse and everyone will be released from their cocoons. From thereon, the fate of humankind would be on each and everyone of you."

Sakura nodded resolutely. "Is there any way I can pull my friend back to this dimension, Kaguya-sama?"

"I'm afraid not." Kaguya said, "However, using the Chakra Fruit, you can teleport yourself into that dimension."

"To teleport back, you'd need a very strong Sharingan or the Chakra Fruit planted in that dimension." Kaguya continued.

_"So, it's a one way passage then…"_ Sakura thought sadly.

"I see that you're very concerned for your friend. Fear not, young one. No matter what happens, love is the one thing that transcends time and space." Kaguya advised her.

Sakura was a little bit puzzled, but somehow, Kaguya's statement helped put her at ease.

What that, she steeled herself and woke up from her sub-conscious to carry out all she was entrusted with.

_[To be continued]_

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**Author's Note: **

Hello Folks,

Thanks again for reading this piece.

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.

**Poppy Grave Dreams**: thank you! I hope I don't look like a nerd there :)

**RedFaction**: thank you! Please set your expectation lower, since this is literally my first time writing a fiction.

**OGKushLord**: Yeah well, I sort of made peace with it when the final chapters were made available. I've let it go and decided to stop following his work. It's a waste really and I doubt the subsequent follow up stories or any story from him will be received well... but well, who am I to predict? :) thanks for reading this fic!

**ghostpoet**: thank you! Sorry for so many grammatical errors. English is not my native language, Singlish is.. ha ha.. :D Here in Singapore it is used as daily conversation, but our mother tongue is tied to our race I guess... Please stay tuned and set your expectation low :)

**the 7th demon of razgriz**: thank you! I learned that the more I dislike the ending, the less happy I get, so I just let it go. If it made you happy at certain point, just keep it there and ignore the rest.. :) let it go and be happy...

**thedarkpokemaster**: thank you! please stay tuned and keep your expectation low :)

**tonello**: thank you and spot on! there are some references to Contacts and Interstellar for those who noticed. Great movies which provoke your thought processes and question your existence in this universe. Please stay tuned :)

**iron monkey fist**: thank you! sorry if it's a bit confusing, but hopefully you can put all the puzzles once the story is completely published.

**Guest: **thanks. I'm not very good at depicting fight scenes, probably because I'm a woman myself. thanks for your feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump.

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><p>Sakura woke up from her sub-conscious, ready to execute the plan. <em>"I'll be guiding you from the inside of your mind, young one."<em> Kaguya said right before Sakura woke up.

She felt that she knew the details of The Shinju intimately now. She knew how it worked and how to utilize it.

Essentially the core of The Divine Tree was a facility to go to other dimensions–a wormhole. It was controlled by The Chakra Fruit. The Chakra Fruit was the brain of this evil being. However, the spirit of The Divine Tree was currently manifested in the form of the physical Kaguya Otsutsuki. The one fighting Naruto.

Without the spirit, The Divine Tree and The Chakra Fruit were nothing but a tool that anyone could use. Amongst other features, The Chakra Fruit could also be used to communicate and send messages across dimensions.

Long ago, it had managed to communicate with Kaguya through a series of dreams. It could communicate through people's minds –sending signs and messages as well as reading their thoughts in return.

Today, Sakura planned to use it to communicate with all of humanity to save the world. All of mankind, no matter where they were situated, including Naruto.

First, she needed to communicate her plan to Naruto. She immediately formed a few hand signs against The Chakra Fruit. Suddenly, the spherical object glowed and displayed the situation of another dimension. Much like a crystal ball that can show events as they happened, from afar.

She was extremely shocked when the blurry images from the spherical object became clearer. Her knees grew weak.

Naruto was on the ground, lifeless.

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**The Endurance: Part V**

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><p><em>[Present Day –The Other Dimension]<em>

Naruto laid on the ground after he fell from the sky above. A circle of desolation surrounded him, bordered by an array of hills and mountains partially ruined by the effects of his fight with Kaguya. He was out of breath. Standing up would require twice as much energy in his current state. Energy that he didn't have.

Trying to keep himself from hyperventilating, Naruto took a slow and deep breath. "Kurama?" he asked. "You there?"

He didn't get any response. Then Naruto realized he was losing his fight to keep panic from setting in. He'd hoped to go out with some dignity, to die a heroic death –but now, trying not to regret his decisions seemed to be all he could do, when suddenly…

_"Naruto!"_

He heard a familiar female voice reaching out to him in his mind, as if the source was sitting right there next to him. Could it be that he'd started hearing things on the verge of his death? Some said that when you're about to die, you get to meet the most important person in your life.

_"Naruto! Wake up!"_

On the verge of death, the inherent instinct to survive kicks-in. _"So, I'm finally done, huh?"_ Naruto thought. Yes, he admitted that he had attachments to his Sakura-chan. Even though he regretted he never had the chance to tell her, but the yearning to be with her and to make her happy was so powerful right then.

At the very moment of death, the human mind pushes itself a little harder to survive for their most beloved people. That's why some people say you'll get to meet the most important person of your life on the verge of death. It's a survival instinct.

His instincts when it came to protect her, his emotions when he wanted to make her happy, formed the very foundations of what made him Naruto today. They were not to be taken lightly.

He'd literally do anything for her without a second thought. He wouldn't mind if his happiness was taken aside, so long as she was happy.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, I could not keep my Promise of a Lifetime…" Naruto trailed.

_"Wake up, you baka! The Naruto that I know will never give up! Wake up now or I'll get there and beat you senseless!"_ Sakura shouted in Naruto's mind, encouraging him not to give up in her own way. He could have sworn that he could hear her voice cracking, as if she's about to cry.

"Eh?" Naruto puzzled. _Oookaaay, this is getting weird, this is too much to be just my imagination. Darn it, brain! Can you please give me an image of Sakura-chan wearing a swimsuit and making a love declaration instead?! Or at least some image of her that I can remember in after life?! Stupid brain! Even on the moment of death you give me the image of her scolding me!?_

_"Naruto! You're awake! Thank God… I was starting to panic."_ Sakura said in Naruto's mind, as if reading his thoughts.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked to no one. "What?! Is this real? How-" Naruto asked again, perplexed.

_"Yes, it's very real. The Chakra Fruit, Naruto. I made it here alive, thanks to you. I'll give you the details later. For now, please get up. I'm following through with our plan."_

_"I'm inside The Divine Tree, I can see you clearly from The Chakra Fruit, along with your surroundings. I'll start performing the next step."_ Sakura continued.

Naruto was still flabbergasted. "So, my mind's not playing tricks on me after all. Great job, Sakura-chan!" he smiled nervously.

Without hesitation, he tried to get up on his feet. Funny how he was out of breath and energy a few moments ago. He felt that something pushed him to survive, especially after hearing Sakura-chan's voice. Although physically he was tired, knowing that Sakura was out there watching him and supporting him breathed a new wind of fighting spirit.

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><p>Now that Naruto was awake, Sakura made a few hand seals against The Chakra Fruit. <em>"First, you have to use the Chakra Fruit to communicate with people of your world captured by The Shinju."<em> Kaguya had told her earlier.

With that, the wall inside of the core began emitting lights. It started with a few cells around the center of the core, and it flickered through the rest of them, like dominoes.

"Naruto, I will first communicate with people of the earth." Sakura said resolutely.

"We will use all of their chakra to form the Ultimate Chakra Sphere." Sakura continued. "I need your help to contain the sphere and shoot it into Kaguya with all your might."

"It will start with your Rasengan. You'll need to form it first. I will then redirect all the chakra into it –essentially pumping and empowering your Rasengan with all the chakra from the people of the earth!" Sakura continued.

_"Got it!"_ Naruto said from the other side.

"I suspect the size of the sphere will be gigantic, since it will contain all the chakra from all human beings. For that, you'd need to jump as high as possible to make the most impact when you throw it against Kaguya." Sakura said as she saw Naruto nodding.

_"I also need to make sure she's occupied in this dimension. Otherwise, she'll start gathering energy and make an inter-dimensional jump to earth."_ Naruto said standing up and clenching his fists.

"That's right. Once we free everyone from their dream, she won't have access to utilize their chakra anymore and her power will be reduced significantly." Sakura said firmly.

Suddenly a familiar voice chimed into their conversation.

_"Sorry kit, I was out for a while. Now that I have my chakra restored a bit. I can fight again!"_ Kurama said in Naruto's mind.

_"Kurama!? Great timing! We're ready, Sakura-chan."_ Naruto stated with determination.

"Alright, let's do it!" Sakura said on the other side.

With that, Naruto made a hand seal to create kage bunshin. Immediately after, hundreds of his clones popped up behind him, forming an army of Naruto clones, ready to attack Kaguya.

Sakura saw Naruto taking a deep breath, as if gathering his energy. And then…

"_TATAKAEEEE_!" Naruto commanded his clones.

His voice was loud and clear as a general in war with his finger pointing to where Kaguya stood. Sakura's chest tightened when she saw him. As if Naruto's fighting spirit resonated through time and space to reach her very core.

"OOOOSSSSHHHHH!" the army of Naruto clones yelled on top of their lungs in unison, marching forward. Their fighting spirit roared. Their voice breaking the sky.

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><p><em>[Outside of The Divine Tree's core]<em>

Hundreds of White Zetsus began to emerge and climbed to the top, as if trying to go inside of the core to stop Sakura. Sasuke saw the batch of White Zetsus coming towards him, ready to attack him and enter the core.

"So, it's finally started." Sasuke said. "Bring it on, I'll make sure none of you could step beyond where I stand." He said resolutely.

"Amaterasu!"

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><p><em>[The People of The Earth's Sub-consciousness]<em>

Inside the core, each and every captured human's dream began to crumble as the wall of The Divine Tree's core emitted a bright light.

The surroundings in Tsunade's dream slowly faded away and turned into nothing, she was now standing on a flat platform, like a desert without anybody around. _"What happened?"_ Tsunade thought. _"I thought I was with Dan just now… Suddenly everything disappeared…"_ She dimly remembered something important. Something that she needed to fight for.

Slowly other people started appearing in this vast desert. It started with other kages from neighboring villages, followed by other shinobis familiar to her, and in a matter of few moments it seemed like the whole shinobi alliance was there with her.

Few moments later, beyond the horizon, Tsunade could see a vast amount of people gathered in this place. It was surreal, as if everyone in this world was gathered here, in this one place.

Suddenly, she heard voices inside her head, loud and clear.

_"People of the earth, please hear me out."_ A female voice very well-known to her. "Sakura?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.

"_I'm communicating to you from another realm…"_ Sakura's voice reached to each and everyone's mind. Tsunade noticed that everyone seem to hear the same voice she's hearing. "Godaime, is that Sakura Haruno?" Gaara asked. Tsunade nodded.

"It's Sakura!" Ino said in the distance, "Shhh!" Shikamaru and Chouji said in unison and placed their finger on their lips, signaling everyone to keep silent.

_"You may already know this, but you were all affected by the Infinite Tsukiyomi. You were all captured inside The Divine Tree's cocoon."_ Sakura continued.

_"The Divine Tree provides you with dreams to keep you asleep. We have stopped that illusion to save you. However, you are now still in the cocoon. For you to be released, we need to defeat The Divine Tree."_ Rock Lee, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba, Shino and other rookies listened.

_"Right now, a warrior is fighting The Divine Tree's spirit somewhere far away on our behalf."_

Sakura's voice reached to where Naruto stood across time and space. He listened to Sakura's message resolutely. Naruto bent to his knees, like an athlete preparing for a high jump. He touched his bare hand to the ground, as though drawing strength from Mother Nature herself.

_"The Divine Tree's spirit is so much stronger than anyone ever was."_

Outside of The Divine Tree's core, Sasuke was fighting all the White Zetsus by himself. Sakura's message seemed to reach him, as he listened to her while cutting down the incoming enemies.

_"That's why we need your help to defeat her. We need your combined power to defeat her. Please raise your hands to the sky and combine your power! Together we will defeat her!"_

Slowly, up in the sky of this vast desert where all people of the earth were standing, an image of Naruto in another dimension bent on his knees started to get visible.

_"…the faith of mankind is now in your hands…"_ Sakura continued.

"It's Naruto!" Shikamaru said. "He's the one fighting The Divine Tree's spirit!" Chouji continued. "Shhhh!" Ino protested to keep both her boys silent.

_"Everyone! Please, lend us as much power as you can!"_ Sakura said resolutely.

With that everyone raised their hands up to the sky. One by one in unison, reaching up to the sky, supporting the warrior fighting on their behalf. Supporting Naruto to bring victory to humanity at large.

"Everyone! Raise your hands up to the sky!" Tsunade roared while raising both her hands. Followed by other kages.

"Ooosshhh!" a large part of the shinobi alliance yelled in unison following the lead to raise their hands.

"Take my power of youth, Naruto-kun!" Rock Lee shouted as he raised his hands.

"Naruto, Sakura, take as much as you can!" Tenten followed.

"_Tatakae_, Naruto! Sakura!" Shikamaru yelled.

"_Ikuzo_!" Chouji echoed, raising his hands up to the sky.

"Naruto, Sakura, _ganbare_!" Ino yelled with her both arms raised.

Other rookies yelled Naruto's name, while looking at his image in the sky. Their voices echoed to the sky in this vast desert. The collective light of chakra and energy emitted from their bodies towards the sky.

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><p>Outside of The Divine Tree's core, Sasuke was still fighting White Zetsus. He casted Amaterasu once more to burn a large amount of his enemies. "Hn. You better make use of my chakra to the fullest, Naruto!" Sasuke said as he raised his hands up to the sky.<p>

His body emitted a bright light and he could feel his chakra being drained. After a moment, the process seemed to be completed and he could feel his body drenched and tired. He saw the tattoo on both of his arms disappear.

Curious, he pulled open his katana to see the reflection of his face using the side of the blade. To his surprise, both his eyes had returned to normal human ones. It seemed that all the chakra from his body was completely drained and he could no longer access or manipulate chakra.

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><p><em>[The Other Dimension]<em>

Naruto was still bent on his knees, the ground rumbling around him. Loose pebbles lifted from his surroundings, caught up in some sort of localized gravitational effect. The rumbling increased in volume as seismic waves radiated from his body.

Naruto cast one last look, as if he was looking straight into Sakura's eyes.

Then, without a word, Naruto jumped into the air, punching through the sky above him. A sonic boom thundered high above as he jumped into the heavens tearing through the wind.

_"Secondly, you have to gather all the chakra from people captured by The Shinju to form the Ultimate Chakra Sphere which you will use to eradicate the physical Kaguya from existence."_ Sakura remembered what Kaguya told her.

On the ground, Naruto's clones were still fighting Kaguya to the fullest. Kaguya saw Naruto jumping high up in the sky. She was about to follow, only to be stopped by hundreds of clones fighting together to stop her. One by one, she defeated the clones as they puffed out and disappeared.

"Alright, here we go, I'm ready Sakura-chan!" Naruto said while forming an Oodama Rasengan. The spherical energy ball lit up the sky. Soon, the energy from all human beings would be pumped into this rasengan to fom the Ultimate Chakra Sphere.

_"Naruto, I'm redirecting it to you now. Be prepared!"_ Sakura's voice echoed in his mind.

Not long after, Naruto felt the light on top of his head get brighter and brighter. He looked up and was surprised.

A very large chakra sphere appeared on top of him. The sphere was as large as a few mountains combined. He felt some of the energy residue from the sphere flow into his body, replenishing his own reserves.

"You did it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said.

_"Now, we need to blast it to Kaguya! Before that, I'll get Sasuke-kun to open the portal with his Sharingan for you to get back here. Wait for me!"_ Sakura said resolutely. There was no way she'll let Naruto bear the burden himself. She promised herself she'll pull Naruto back to their world.

"Alright, but I'll shoot it to her soon, no matter what! My clones are starting to lose their numbers." Naruto said.

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><p>Outside of The Divine Tree's core, Sasuke fought the White Zetsus single-handedly without any jutsu or chakra manipulation technique. He used his taijutsu and kenjutsu to eliminate as many as possible.<p>

"No one shall pass where I stand!" he screamed towards his enemy and strode forward, when suddenly…

_"Sasuke-kun, I need you to activate your Sharingan and open the inter-dimensional portal to Kaguya's dimension. Naruto will blast Kaguya soon with The Ultimate Chakra Sphere. Once he has shot Kaguya with it, grab him out of that dimension and bring him back!"_ Sakura told him.

"…" Sasuke couldn't seem to find the right words to respond.

_"Sasuke-kun, do you get my message? We need to help Naruto out of that dimension. The chakra sphere is very large and he wouldn't be able to survive the blast from where he is standing."_ Sakura asked desperately.

"I'm sorry Sakura. You're a little late…"

" …I no longer have access to my chakra."

_"What? What do you mean?"_ Sakura asked frantically.

"I gave all of my chakra just now to Naruto. There was never a plan to bring him back. The moment we devised our plan, he was more than ready to sacrifice himself." Sasuke said with a tone of melancholic finality.

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><p><em>[The Core of the Divine Tree]<em>

Sakura seemed lost in her thoughts for a while, she couldn't believe what she'd heard. She quickly drew her attention back to the spherical object, where Naruto was floating in the sky with the chakra sphere on top of him.

She saw him make a move to shoot the sphere into Kaguya.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sakura cried. Naruto briefly stopped.

"…I… I'm sorry… Sasuke's sharingan... is no longer accessible to him…" Sakura said implying the heavy underlying message with this news. Tears were slowly forming in her eyes. She seemed to be unable to form any words. _Why does it always come to this?_

Unknown to Sakura, in the sub-conscious of the people of the earth, everyone had been listening to the conversation between Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke. In that desert where everyone was gathered, they could see Naruto ready to shoot Kaguya. The revelation that he himself may not survive this fight tore them from inside. Everyone seemed to mourn the situation.

Naruto smiled fondly, trying to comfort Sakura. He knew she was there somewhere looking at him. If he had to bid farewell, he needed to make sure Sakura was happy.

_"Don't be sad, Sakura-chan…"_

_"Remember what I told you about Geometric Progression?"_

_"I will protect you. And in turn, you will protect those around you. Protect only whom you can, even if it's only a few. And those around you would also protect those around them…"_

_"…You and the younger generation of the Leaf are the future…"_

_"In order for you to move forward, you have to leave something behind."_

_"Never give up, Sakura-chan! Live, and protect the future of the world!"_

With those thoughts communicated, Naruto shot the Ultimate Chakra Sphere to Kaguya below.

Sakura stood in the chamber watching each and every moment of it through the spherical Chakra Fruit. It seemed like an eternity, as Naruto shot the sphere towards Kaguya. It seemed like time itself froze, as the sphere reached the ground and exploded wildly down below.

She saw Naruto brace himself with the Kyuubi cloak, before he was consumed with the bright light of the explosion. She saw him being repelled away from the explosion, thanks to his Kyuubi cloak.

She saw the moment he lost consciousness and floated up in the sky of that dimension, waiting to tumble to the ground like a fallen angel.

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><p><em>[The Other Dimension]<em>

As the explosion contained itself and Naruto deflected away from it, he thought of Sakura, and all of his friends –and hoped he had saved them. He thought he had, or at least played a part in it. There wasn't much more that he could ask for.

_"What happens now?"_ he wondered while floating up in the sky. He'd soon tumble to the ground. He'll probably survive that, but the fact that this dimension has no life, it'd probably only prolong his own for some time more.

Where was he going to go now? He was done wasn't he? He'd accomplished what he was meant to do.

Dimly, he saw the explosion being contained and gradually imploding, as if accumulating the energy into its center.

He then saw suddenly a large wave coming out from the center, radially surging outwards in all directions.

As the radial wave from the center of the explosion expanded, he saw something interesting. He saw that trees, plants, water and _life_ began to form out from the wave. As if the condensed sphere of chakra was giving life to this dimension, to this world.

Trees and plants began surging from the ground as the wave continue to expand, covering all of the surface in this world. It all made sense now. He remembered the day when he mastered the Kyuubi cloak mode in that isolated island with Yamato-taicho and Killer Bee. His chakra caused the wood-jutsu of Yamato-taicho to bloom, as if giving life to it.

The chakra of all human beings used to eliminate Kaguya, was somehow condensed and it somehow injected _life_ into this world.

Naruto tried to regain his balance, as the wave went past through his body. He was deflected again and lost his balance. He was about to tumble to the ground, when suddenly…

"Naruto! Hang in there!" A familiar voice suddenly rang behind him, together with a flicker of light.

A pair of warm hands circled his waist. The hands were covered with the Kyuubi cloak, similar to his own. He was very surprised.

"I won't let you go!" the familiar voice echoed resolutely from behind him, although it sounded desperate. The person behind him tried to regain balance for both of them, hands holding him tightly.

"I won't lose you! Never again!" the person continued as she managed to make a smooth landing for the both of them.

They managed to touch down without hurting themselves. Naruto turned around. After a while, he still stood there, disbelievingly staring at who was standing in front of him.

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><p>"…Sakura-chan...Why?" Naruto asked, both of them still holding on to each other.<p>

"..." Sakura tried to hide her tears. She wasn't ready to meet his eyes yet.

"...In order to move forward, I have to leave something behind." She finally said with a broken voice, implying that she'd left the world she knew to move forward with her future. To move towards Naruto. She slowly lifted her head to face him. _This is it, it's now or never._

Naruto smiled fondly. He then gently hugged her close and let her cry on his chest. He let her gather her thoughts while they stood there, embracing. The trees and the plants surrounding them continued to bloom, high up towards the sky. The radial wave injecting life into this dimension continued with its momentum.

As the sun of this world was setting down, fireflies started to fly around them, illuminating a beautiful setting all around them.

The Kyuubi chakra cloak finally diminished, leaving them with their torn attire. Apparently, it had managed to establish a connection between the both of them, which Sakura used to jump to the exact place where Naruto was.

"I still have not fulfilled my Promise of a Lifetime to you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a tone of regret.

"You have kept your promise, Naruto... he came back to us. He came back to help us defeat The Divine Tree's spirit..." Sakura answered, giving Naruto a considerable measure of relief. As if his heavy burden was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He dimly remembered a conversation he had in the past with Sai, where he asked him if he had told his feelings to Sakura. _How could I? I could not even keep my promise..._ He'd replied back then.

With that, Naruto braced himself to make a bold move. He slowly wiped the tears from Sakura's cheeks and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You have a large charming forehead, Sakura-chan. Makes me want to kiss it…" he said while hugging her.

Sakura was briefly surprised, but then she smiled genuinely. "It was you that day…" she mumbled in his chest. Somehow, knowing it was Naruto that day made her so very happy. He really was the one. Indeed, love really did transcend time and space to have brought her here to reach her other half.

"We'll find a way to go home…" Naruto reassured her.

"…I'm fine as long as I'm with you…" Sakura said, looking at her surroundings.

Somehow, she felt that everything would be alright, as long as Naruto was present in her journey, no matter how difficult the situations were.

Sakura couldn't contain her smile. "I saw you unconscious from the chamber. That's why I came here. Remember I told you earlier that I'll beat you senseless if you pass out?" Sakura said.

"Really? Well I thought I heard someone about to cry when she jumped here and held on to me?" Naruto retorted.

"That was an emergency, _baka_. You were tumbling from the sky to the ground, head first. Did you forget how to be a ninja? By the way, can you let me go now? You sort of need to take a bath." Sakura grumped sweetly while still hugging him.

"No worries, I will take one soon. Do you want to join me?" Naruto asked slyly.

"Not so soon, you _baka_. You need to work hard to see me in a swimsuit and make a love declaration to you!" Sakura said.

"Hey, y-you e-eavesdropped my mind!" Naruto stammered nervously while blushing.

"Oooh, did I just see the great Naruto Uzumaki blushing and stuttering?" Sakura teased.

Sakura smiled and gave him a devilish wink. Holding his hands, while remembering what she saw in the other dimension, where Menma and her older self lived, she finally said…

"I'll give you more than that, _baka_…"

With that, she stood up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.

_[The End]_

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note: <strong>

Hello Folks,

Thanks again for reading this piece. I need to update my schedule and upload the last chapter now. I'll be on business trip in the coming days, so, I need to get this out of my thought process. My job requires me to travel around the world quite often, even during holidays. If I have something pending, I won't be able to concentrate fully. The first chapter of this series is even written while I was waiting in the airport, and part of it was written while I was flying... :)

Thank you so much for all the reviews and favorites! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this fiction. I'm sorry I couldn't write the reply to your review one by one this time.

The story ends here, and you can take it anywhere you'd like with your own imagination. I'll upload the epilogue in the coming weeks once I'm back from my trip –not so soon though :)

Thanks again for your time!

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.

**Literal Note:**

_Tatakae_: 'Fight!' (Japanese)

_Ikuzo_: 'Let's go!' (Japanese)

_Ganbare_: 'Do your best! / Hang in there!' (Japanese)


	6. Epilogue

Thank you for reading this piece. The author note is shifted to the end of the chapter. Naruto and its characters belongs to Shounen Jump. This chapter contains scenes not meant for children under age :)

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><p>-X-<p>

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**The Endurance: Epilogue**

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><p>Kaguya Otsutsuki's spirit smiled fondly, as she watched Sakura and Naruto embrace each other in this dimension. She had detached her spirit from Sakura's sub-conscious a while ago.<p>

She could relate her old self with Sakura Haruno, who had managed to save her soul mate and reunited with him –at the same time freeing all the people of the earth, unifying them together to defeat The Divine Tree, and opening their eyes to the fact that their fate was now in their own hands. They no longer needed to depend on chakra to survive.

Those were the things that she didn't manage to achieve quite well in her own life. Needless to say, she was glad that the younger generation managed to surpass the older one. In a way, Kaguya's tragic journey could finally be redeemed, thanks to the younger generation.

As the new wave of life was being injected into this world by the condensed chakra energy, her gaze wandered around –the green trees and plants rising up towards the sky, the clean water sprouting in some places forming springs and the rivers which would eventually form seas and oceans, the life that was born as the radial wave continued to cover all the surface of this world.

Sakura noticed Kaguya's spirit while embracing Naruto. They smiled purposefully at each other, no words were exchanged, but it was enough to exchange exclamations of gratitude and a memorable farewell. Their encounter had been short, but deep and meaningful.

_Finally, I'll be able to see you again, dear…_ Kaguya thought about her late husband. The one she longed for the most after being sealed eternally. Her spirit began to fade away, as Sakura and Naruto bowed towards her.

_"Our lives are defined by chances and opportunities; even the ones we miss…"_

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><p>Outside the collapsed Divine Tree on Earth, Sasuke Uchiha stood on top of its core. His body bruised and battered after fighting all the White Zetsus without chakra, using his swordsmanship and skills.<p>

He pondered upon what had just transpired. He waited for a while, hoping that his closest friends would come out from the core which was now lifeless and showing no signs of being alive. He waited while the rest of the world's population get out of the cocoon in unison.

After a while, it seemed that everybody was now freed from their cocooned prisons. The Shinobi Alliance looked far towards where he stood. They mourned the loss of their comrades, and the warrior who had just fought on their behalf.

Sasuke realized one thing about that day. It was the 10th day of the 10th month.

The day Naruto was born. The day when Konohagakure was attacked by the Kyuubi. The day when every aspect and path determining Naruto's journey was set. The day mankind stood united to defeat The Divine Tree. The day Naruto left, together with mankind's ability to access the chakra system.

The day when the cycle of hatred had finally ended, as mankind no longer had access to the Chakra System. The day when eternal peace was finally possible, as mankind was now united under the same goals –to rebuild their world for the generations to come.

_The Child of Destiny, maybe you really are the one, Naruto…_ Sasuke thought sadly. He thought about him and Sakura, both of whom still hadn't come out from the Divine Tree's core until it finally withered. At that very moment, he put his katana on the ground, and slowly clasped his hands to pray for his team mates. _Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, wherever you are, be happy…_ Sasuke thought without realizing tears were forming in his eyes.

_"…Most of the time, we miss out the chances to appreciate the most important people in our lives. In a way, we are meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?"_

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><p>Far away in another dimension, a pair of lovers started to build their lives in their new world. It'd been a few months since they came here. The first few weeks were tough, but they managed to survive, thanks to the sudden injection of life in this world.<p>

They were shinobis after all, trained to survive in all kinds of harsh environments. They complemented each other –one was gifted with strength, stamina, and an abundance of chakra; the other was gifted with a sharp mind and had managed to consume a part of The Divine Knowledge –thanks to Kaguya's knowledge transfer.

They started to build their home and sustainable life support systems necessary for the future generations to come. Naruto's kage bunshin really came in handy. Every day, thousands of clones were created to run their very own village.

Some went to build facilities, some went for farming, some went for hunting, and some went to mine natural resources or other activities to build their world –transforming raw materials into something more readily useable. At the end of the day once the clones puffed and returned to Naruto, their knowledge was accumulated and analyzed accordingly, allowing them to further excel in their activities the next day.

Sakura also didn't waste her time. She spent most of her time writing the knowledge she harnessed for the generations to come. She fully knew they'd need it to survive. It was her and Naruto's duty as pioneers to lay the foundations for future generations properly.

She never once regretted her decisions. She remembered the day when she decided to jump here. Against all odds, she decided to follow her heart, to move forward, to reach out to Naruto –yes, the tiniest possibility of seeing Naruto again gave her _true_ happiness.

_"…We always look for reasons when things don't go well. The circumstances, the timing, the rumors, the luck... We pull out all these various excuses to console ourselves when things don't go according to what we wanted. 'If only I could do it all over again.' The question would be, will it really turn out well if we get to do it all over again? There's hardly any second chances in life. Love won't wait. So, think clearly and follow your heart. Sometimes, the person who is important to you is right there by your side…"_

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><p><em>'You want a big family, Naruto?'<em> Sakura asked one day which got Naruto to blush madly. He was being gentle and considerate, as always, telling Sakura that they should take it slowly. Although it took so much _energy_ for him to hold down his passions and not to jump directly and possibly take advantage of her. He would never force things on her. It had all always been about her happiness anyways. He even kept offering to find a way to go back to their home. Sakura kept turning down the offer.

She knew it was technically possible to go back using The Divine Tree's core planted in this world. She even knew the exact location of it.

_'We are the only people capable of utilizing the Chakra System. Mankind is better off without this capability, otherwise they would start abusing it again, like they did in the past.'_ Sakura suggested.

If it required them to stay in this world for peace to be attained on Earth, she was more than ready and willing to go for it. She was happy and content for as long as she was together with Naruto anyways. And was confident they could make things right this time with their future generations.

_Future generations…_ Just the thought of raising future generations with Naruto made her so happy.

That night, she decided to wear the _kimono_ she'd been preparing for a while now. Naruto was being clueless as always and decided to follow her agenda with the attire Sakura gave him earlier. They shared laughs over dinner, while gazing at the beauty of the moons and stars painted in the sky of this new world. They were different than what they'd seen from their previous home, but no less beautiful. At times, they exchanged friendly innuendos, bordering on the edge of their mutual feelings.

Naruto was puzzled when Sakura asked him to follow her, as she walked a few steps ahead of him into her room. Naruto stood at her door for a while, respecting her privacy while watching Sakura venture further towards her _futon_ in the center of the room.

Her door was still opened when she slowly untied her kimono, one layer at a time. Slowly exposing her beautiful nape. The fabrics slowly left her body, reaching the floor in her room. Another layer was untied to expose her lovely back to the man she held dear. Her top was now completely uncovered, as she placed her arms in front of her breasts, waiting her loved one to embrace her.

_"…love isn't something that we invented. It's observable. It's powerful. Yet, it is not tangible –you can feel it, but you can't touch it; you can savor it, but you can't see it."_

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><p>Not long after, a pair of warm hands encircled her body. Slow and gentle, yet firm and secure. He embraced her while kissing her nape. No words were exchanged, but Sakura could feel how nervous Naruto was. She knew he'd been waiting forever for this very moment.<p>

She leaned back a little to feel his warmth, her back touching his chest. She could feel his heart pounding loudly. She touched his hands and squeezed them gently. She then guided his right hand to cup her bare breast, moving the other one to touch the warm core between her legs. His touch sent shivers down her spine. Something she never knew she would love and crave more of.

She took the initiative to ease his nervousness, while turning her head to kiss him passionately. The moment seemed to last forever, as they slowly made their own path to fly high into blissfulness, the joy of their first time sharing this moment together.

They made love to each other. They started clumsily, yet passionately. Slowly exploring each other before they became one. Pouring all their feelings and passions into every movement to provide happiness to each other. They gave it their all until they were out of control and their mind turned all white with waves of heavenly feelings consuming their bodies from head to toe. They were out of breath, their knees weak.

Only a moment after they caught their breaths, they started anew. Gentle at times, rough and passionate at others. Their moans and groans formed a beautiful rhythm and symphony, accompanying their bodies which danced eternally in happiness and blissfulness. Sakura didn't know how many times they became one that night. She didn't know how many times their mind turned all bright and awash in delight. She stopped counting at eleventh. All she knew was the more they shared, the more she needed. It was never enough for her, and she could see that Naruto felt the same.

It was already noon the next day when Sakura arched her back and moaned Naruto's name as she reached her peak for the umpteenth time. Riding on top of a toned body which held her firmly and strongly, she gracefully collapsed on top of his chest, smiling contently. She never knew sharing these moments would be so very rewarding, addicting and encompassing. Naruto embraced her while kissing her forehead gently.

Without realizing it, these first moments they'd shared were enough to create life. A life that would be one of the pioneers for the generations to come, embodying all their hopes for eternal peace in this world.

_"Love is born from people who give their best to each other, from people who treat each other well, from people who want nothing but happiness for the receiving end. Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."_

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><p>In another world, an old but fierce lady walked towards the hokage building, wearing a cloak with the word <em>'Godaime'<em> scripted on its back.

Ever since mankind lost access to Chakra System, Tsunade Senju no longer had to worry to maintain her appearance. She was elegant in her own way.

She dedicated all her remaining lifetime to excel the medical knowledge on the foundation of humanity's own strength –without the help of a chakra system. At the same time rebuilding the village –creating a better place for generations to come.

Shinobi villages were no longer known for their power, rather, they were known for their wisdom and knowledge to excel human life through their past knowledge of chakra system.

Today was the day she was going to pass the torch of hokage onto the next generation to carry on the Will of Fire. Shikamaru Nara stood in the chamber to accept the honor. Ino and Chouji watched proudly as their teammate ascended to carry on the responsibility. Rock Lee, Tenten, Kiba, Shino and Hinata all shared the same determination –the guts to bring the best to this world on the basis of humanity's strength and knowledge.

The Sand siblings watched the ceremony go by. Temari shared a look full of resolve with Shikamaru, remembering what Naruto Uzumaki told Sakura Haruno that day, when they fought The Divine Tree's spirit.

Shikamaru then cast a look into a large monument built to memorize those heroes who sacrificed their lives during the Great War. The monument to memorize the heroes who brought victory to mankind. The monument where the figure of his comrade who never gives up was crafted, together with his sensei, his fierce med-nin and his stoic rival. Forever serving as a reminder of the price they had to pay to attain eternal peace.

It was built just below the hokage sculptures on the mountain, big enough to be visible from the outside of Konoha. He then clasped his hands and slightly bowed towards the direction where the monument was built, followed by other attendants of the ceremony, and gradually all the villagers at that very moment.

Today was the 10th day of the 10th month. Exactly one year after the end of the war.

_"Love is born from those who want to protect their precious ones. Protect those around you. Protect only whom you can, even if it's only a few. And those around you would also protect those around them. "_

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><p>In another place, Sasuke Uchiha sat down after a long day working on his dreams, dreams that he shared with his comrades, in this part of Konohagakure. He decided to visit the new Hokage later on that day after he finished with his morning routine.<p>

Sasuke and his comrades traveled the world to adopt orphans and kids whose parents were victims of the war. Providing shelter, education and affection for those kids who had nowhere to stay.

Not far from him was a large building that he'd been working on for the past few months. He saw Juugo and Suigetsu climb on to the top of the structure, carrying a big board which served as an emblem, "The House of Uchiha" written on it.

Not far from them in a field of grass, Kabuto and Orochimaru were conducting some lessons to the orphans. It was awkward at first, but reflecting on their childhood, they finally realized there was a bigger goal in life other than lusting for power or immortality. More than anything, they would do whatever it takes to stop another evil mind to born in this world. Whatever it takes to stop a vengeful by-product of war. Whatever it needs to keep the peace of the world.

Karin Uzumaki joined Sasuke and sat beside him, she offered him a towel to clean himself. He took it gently and they shared a knowing look. She had prepared yet another meal for the orphans and her comrades to eat before they would go to Hokage building.

They saw the villagers turn their attention to the monument. Without words, Sasuke stood up and made his gesture to honor his teammates and sensei. Followed by Karin and the others. Today was the 10th day of the 10th month.

In unison, they gestured their respect to the large structure where Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi were crafted, looking determinedly into the horizon, as if in their current place –wherever they may be, they kept fighting to guard the peace.

A string of kanji was written on the base of it, which said…

"For Eternal Peace of Humankind"

"10th day of the 10th month, Team Seven with the help of the world"

_[Fin]_

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**Author's Note: **

Hello Folks,

Happy New Year to you all! Thanks again for reading this piece.

This will finally be a closure for me to bid farewell to this series.

Part of it were written on the airport, while I'm waiting in the boarding room. Part of it were written on the plane. It's part of my yearly resolution actually. I've decided to quit investing my time to read ongoing manga and decided to read the whole series once it is completed, whatever series it might be. Well, it's time for me to move one with my life and interests after close to 20 years reading manga. In a way, the canon ending brought a blessing in disguise –a sign for me to quit all of this :)

Now that I know Kishimoto's true intentions through the interviews, it's really a wakeup call for me to quit this whole manga reading things. If you love this series for the concept of NaruSaku or a hero who never give up, please spare your soul and stop following it. Going forward, this series is not worth your attention, time and money. They will retcon everything and do all it takes to make the other canon pairing looks "good". Why? Because they need it for the new era project whatever to succeed, so they could get your attention, time and money. Whether it'll work or not, I have no concern at all going forward. It's a closed book and a distant memory.

Hayao Miyazaki was right. The industry is filled with otakus everywhere! It's no wonder that publishers and studios like Ghibli who produced quality work full of moral messages and story depth need to suspend their operation.

I regretted that I once supported this series head over heal. Not because NS didn't happen, but because of the message the author was trying to convey with his ending. I've read this series for the past 14 years. None of what being drawn in the series shows what Kishi was saying through his late interviews.

Before you disagree, you need to see where I'm coming from. In early days, this series was not that big, but it was so much fun to read. I read it in my university days in Japan about 14 years ago. It managed to draw my attention as female reader thanks to the introduction of Sakura Haruno "a girl that I like a lot" according to younger Naruto. Thanks to the bench scene and Gaara's fight, I used to be a veteran reader of this series -a collectible 63 volumes, plushes, calendars, shirts, DVDs, etc. But then, look at what the last two chapters and the movie had done to me? Anyways, what's done is done. I just take the situation lightly and laughed it off. It's time to let it go and move forward :)

More than anything, I would like to thank NS fans for being a great community. I've met a lot of friends in my brief adventure on the internet.

The key message that I want to convey through this fiction is for NS family to let it go and move forward with whatever important in their lives. Through this fiction, I keep repeating that _"in order for you to move forward, you have to leave something behind"_.

Let it go and do things that make you happy in your life.

Thanks again for your time and have a great year ahead!

Special thanks to **ahmadaziz** for reviewing and correcting grammatical errors in this fiction.

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><p>I just recalled that I have promised I would reply to the reviewers, so here it goes!<p>

** ghostpoet**: thank you! I hope you enjoy the short ride.

** Iron Monkey Fist**: thank you so much! I'm glad you like it. English has always been my weakness, ha ha. Normally I'd get my assistant to skim through and sanitize my papers. Since this piece was done in my spare time (during few of my commutes from work while sitting beside my hubby, sometimes at the airport), I understand there are many editorial mistakes. My bad. Thanks for reading this piece!

** THE 7TH DEMON OF RAZGRIZ**: Thank you! Wow, you did read my mind? ha ha...

** ahmadaziz**: Thank you so much! And thanks for your offer to do a beta read and qualify my fiction. I'd be very grateful, though it has already ended :) Normally I'd get my assistant to do editorial review on my papers before I submit it to authorities. I suppose, I can't really leverage them for this piece.. ha ha.. Well, the plot was just flowing through my mind. I suppose it was a by-product of following the series for 14 years. I did enjoy the process to write fiction. Much like writing research papers, but no need time and effort for research and best of all, no boundary on the content. We can literally write what we want... :)

** thedarkpokemaster**: Thank you, I hope you enjoy the ride.

** Akamatt**: Thank you so much! I support whatever decision you made, as long as it makes you happy! No worries about the rants, all of us need to vent out at some point. But don't waste too much energy ranting and complaining, dear. It's best to use it for something tangible and useful. Do things that makes you happy!

** Ninjashooter**: Thank you so much! Just a small thing that I can do to thank NS community...

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**Literal Note and Behind the Scenes:**

Now that I've replied the reviewers, might as well add my thoughts on this fic. This is my first attempt, and sadly it would probably be my last one as well. I enjoyed the process of creating a fiction. It's something new to me. So far, I've only been at the receiving / reading end.

Nonetheless, I felt the process is quite similar to what I'd normally do. My background is engineering and I do research for living. In the world of engineering and architecture, there is no such thing as coincidences. Building things up one by one is the only thing anything can be done. Everything has a purpose.

That's the principle I use to create this fic. I tried to put the story as simple as possible. You'd notice that some scenes were introduced for the subsequent scenes to carry out. Even small things in the prologue of each chapter, such as why Naruto always borrow Sakura's note without returning it, was explained in the following chapter. A small bit of Road to Ninja was also used as part of the story's plot.

I'd like to make small things as meaningful as possible. Hopefully, I have (at least) partially achieved that goal.

Again, thanks for your time and I hope you have a great journey ahead! You can always visit my blog at .com.


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